I’m Lazy As Hell. So How Am I So Productive (while working at home)?

I don’t think I’ve hidden the fact that I’m lazy. Do I try to be productive while working at home? Yes, I do. Do I sometimes show a complete lack of regard to my laptop, letting it wither on the counter while I suck up a Golden Girls mini-marathon? Heck yeah I do ! And what can be lazier than that except, of course, a day of reading the endless tripe that spews forth from the the internet machine.

I’m a full-time blogger, I take care of the house and I still have plenty of time to enjoy my vices. So, when I stumbled upon this time use table, my eyes were opened to how much time I actually spend doing the everyday things.

But I am STILL LAZY !

How, then, do I manage to get all my work done ? How can I be lazy and productive?

I do it like this:

How I Manage To Be Productive Working At Home.

I Delegate

This is a little trick I learned during my 9-5 office jobs (all of which I hated). Delegate. Back in the day it was called “passing the buck”, but I call it “letting someone else do the crap”. I can list off a dozen things that I have to do every day – things that I would rather pawn off to someone else. Like an intern. Or my kids. Yep, they’re great little worker bees when I need some paper-sorting and label-sticking sort of things done.

I Cut The Clutter

I don’t know about you, but I like to keep things simple. And when it comes to work, the less hassle the better. Unfortunately for me, this lesson took a lot of heartache, stress and secret anger before it sank in.

This is what I learned NOT to do:

Take on any tasks or projects if I know the job and I are not a good match.

Accept work if I sense a problem – like a scam.

Waste my time if I know – deep down – the project or job will be a pain in my rump.

I Automate

Ahhh, the Kaboom toilet system…where have you been all my life? Even when I’m at my laziest I can clean my toilets. I seem to have made it my mission to seek out tools that make all my jobs easier. Like scrubbing the pot. And sweeping the floor. Not only do I automate my everyday house cleaning chores, I find tools to be more productive and get my work-work done. Like setting up my browser’s start page to go directly to my blog so I get straight to work instead of looking at bath remodel ideas on Pinterest. And, if I actually used Twitter more often, I would use Hootsuite to schedule my tweets.

If only I had a robot to take out the garbage.

I Procrastinate

Is procrastination a fancy word for lazy? Well, if pulling out all of my delay tactics is kin to my slothiness, then yes. Procrastinating as a good thing – it forces me to become motivated and therefore find the ambition to do what needs to be done. Looming deadline? No problem! I just look at my to-do list, figure out what I have to do NOW, what can wait til later, and get cracking. Surprisingly, the things I shove down to the “wait” section get done…eventually. You see, these are the things that must not be too important since I keep shoving them down the list.

I Piecemeal

Another little tid-bit I learned from my stint in the 9-5 world was to split-up projects into several smaller segments and do each piece when I was able to. I always seemed to have a deadline, but that only ensured the entire job would get done. Now, Because I am a Golden Girls-aholic, I employ this work-in-short-bursts strategy so I never miss the slutatious antics of Blanche Devereaux. Truth is, working like this makes every job seem as though the entire project is smaller than it really is. I just have to be sure the end result is to the satisfaction of my client – even if my client is my family.

I Nap

I love naptime ! Sometimes, a ten minute re-charge of my brain is all I need. A while ago I read about sleeping less to do more and I took on some of those little challenges. It didn’t take me long to realize that I could make sleep work for me. But sometimes I need a teeny-weeny bit more because it’s not always possible to wind down and get a good night’s sleep (especially when hot flashes are raging !). So I nap.

You Can Admit It: You’re Lazy, Too.

We all have a little bit of laziness in us. Even if it’s only sometimes. Use it to your advantage and you can get more work done than you ever thought possible. Do you have any laziness techniques that boost your productivity ? Go ahead and tell me about them in the comments.